froghat

Really, ever since I turned 30 I've become bored with life. I wouldn't say depressed, just completely uninterested in everything. No hobbies I enjoy, tired of consuming entertainment, and no real reason to wake up besides work. It's hard to meet new people once you hit 30 as well, so I end up going to concerts and other stuff alone. The last 8 years I basically do fine for 3 or 4 days and then want to escape, so I'll drink a pint of vodka. I average 2 pints a week.

Quitting would be easy if I had a passion or something remotely interesting to do. Anyone deal with something similar?

2ndhandrose

For me, I discovered that my passions about anything were buried under my drinking. Removed the drinking and found my passion!

Sounds easy but it did take time, effort and willingness

I believe that drinking dulls our interests in anything else, JMHO.

Mizzuno

I drank out of boredom, happiness, sadness, grief, monotony, stress.... I mean you name it and I had a glass of wine with it.

I would like to challenge the idea of "quitting would be easy If I had a passion or something remotely interesting to do"?

There are so many different hobbies and ideas in this world. I am confident that you have not tried them all.

Gardening?
Swimming?
Painting?
Walking?
Mosiacs?
Pottery?
Drawing?
Coloring?
Collaging?
Writing a book?
Roller skating?
Ice skating?
Design?
Yoga?
Skiing?
Snowboarding?
Cycling?
Uni-cycling?
making your own clothes?
Making clothes for someone else?
Fashion design?
Starting your own business?
Guitar?
Drums?
Bass?
Ukulele?
Choir?
Becoming the next American Idol?
Camping?
Hiking?
Origami?
Baking?
Cooking?
Welding? (Ive always wanted to weld)
Learning a new language
Going back to school
Photography?
Knitting?
Crotchet?
Running?
Chess
Become a magician
Make furniture
Learning how to build a website
Playing cards


Thats all I got for now. Anyone can add to this awesome list of things to do or find passion in. I think I forgot something.........

froghat

Starting a business or creating a website would be interesting, but I would have to have some sort of interest in something LOL

Mac4711

Same here. Drinking killed off all my interests and frankly it also robbed me of all the energy that I had. So yeah, I think you’re getting cause and effect mixed up. I’m afraid your AV is at work here, whispering in your ear: ‘There’s nothing interesting, all is futile, might as well go and get hammered’.

Since I got sober, I’ve got so much interesting stuff to do, there are not enough hours in the day. In addition to quitting you need to work a program, which also includes finding useful stuff to do. In the beginning just keep busy with whatever, then over time you’ll find something that is worthwhile!

AnonSara

Drinking kept me from taking action and finding interests in anything. I haven't found quitting to be easy, at least not in the beginning. But it is worth it.

fini

having no interest in anything at all sure sounds like it might be depression.
maybe get that checked by a health care person...go for a chat about it.
of ourse it ould easily be a result of drinking, too

markinny

maybe you could be a comedian. you've got a good sense of humor

zjw

i had little interests when i drank i mean there where some passing ideas but mainly i'd just drink instead.

I got sober and found i still have little interest in a lot of the usual stuff. to be honest a lot of stuff I just dont find to be all that stimulating.

In time tho i've tried this and tried that and found a few things I like. and Honestly i'm at the point now where i'm kinda pissed off becuase theres a lot of other things i'd like to do too but i lack the financial resources or the time and it ticks me off becuase I feel as if lifes too short and i'd liek to try and expierence these other things too.

but while your currently drinking? nah when i drank nothing was better then my drinking hobby or so it seemed.

zjw

sometimes its also kinda good to embrace the boredom too. I can think of a number of exciting things many would rather be bored then have to deal with lol.

For example I could become incredibly ill I'd surely not be bored with all the doctor visits and treatmennts and such. But i bet i'd take boredom over that etc..

so someitmes its good to be bored. maybe the alternative wouldnt be all that great.

FBL

I used to have all kinds of hobbies until the drinking took over my life. Since I quit, I've re-discovered how much fun those hobbies were and why I was interested in them in the first place. Now, I can't imagine fitting drinking into my busy schedule!

anxiousrock

Yep! That’s what I do too. Literally the only reason I drink.
I have bad social anxiety so no friends, and can’t make any.
I’m scared to go hiking and stuff by myself.
I go walking with my boyfriend, to the gym all the time by myself, and work.
But there’s always going to be days where this is not possible for me to do, so I drink.

Berrybean

THIS!!!!

Active alcoholism is a thief. It steals our integrity, curiosity, compassion and peace.

That pint of vodka is not the escape route, it's just a way of pulling the snare tighter.

BB

ScottT

You are so right about the boredom, The partying became just "what I did". I am actually excited about new old things (good ones) I use to partake in. Exercising, playing guitar,loving and laughing. The dope and booze just put me in a kind of semi-coma.

Sudz No More

Mizzuno has it right, create a diversion by finding another hobby that doesn't lend itself to the idea of drinking. I spend free time caring for animals, working in the yard, going out to nature parks and even sometimes just slow walking through the shopping stores and browsing. When I was younger I would have added Tennis and other sporting activities as things to do that don't go with drinking. If you are so inclined, a hobby like a membership at a tennis club would fill all of your time outside of work and you would make friends. I did this for a while in my 20s and once you had a network of hitting partners you were getting called all the time for a session so you kept busy.

FloridaLove

Heya! I’m not sure where you live but I’ve found I had been lonely lately with not many friends but I joined a group on Facebook which is for local people in their 20’s/30’s who want to meet and arrange to do things with other people.

It’s been fantastic and such a confidence boost for me. I’ll admit they arrange nights out drinking but a lot of the time its trips to cinema, gigs, shows etc so definitely worth checking out! Most major towns/cities should have a similar group.

froghat

Hmm, is their one for the Chicago suburbs?

froghat

Yup, thats what I think about everyday. Finding a hobbie that gives me meaning to life. I struggle with social anxiety, so that makes it tougher. I want to create or build something. I'm good with dogs and occasionally dog walk for a few customers for money. Would be cool if I could get enough clients to make a living doing it. I'm also in between jobs after 8 years as a sales rep for a bread company. Nice way of saying delivery guy to grocery stores. So I'm not sure what I want to do for my next job, friendless, and bored out of my mind when it comes to hobbies.

LOL dear lord!

least

Dog walking sounds like it would be a good thing. To do something you like and get paid for it.

DayTrader

I spent a large portion of my early recovery (first year - 2 years) trying to figure out what the REAL problem was. Was it boredom, lack of drive, dissipation of self worth, loneliness, lack of positive/constructive hobbies, some sort of inability to form deap/meaningful/lasting relationships, etc.

Once I conquered these issues I was convinced my life would start to click - things would finally be back on the right track. It seemed, however, that every time I'd really get a handle on one of them and start to overcome it......something new would pop up. Or maybe something old would pop up again. My life, it seemed, was becoming this endless game of wack-a-mole and now matter how many I knocked down, more things would spring to life to make me unhappy.

Eventually it hit me - I'd been hearing from the long-timers in AA - something I thought I understood but hadn't really. It finally sunk into me that if I'm the type of chronic alcoholic that some people are, my problem isn't JUST that I can't control my booze, isn't JUST that I can't seem to just say now and stay away from it...... it's that I seem to have this inability to life life happily as a general rule - drunk OR sober. That, they told me, was the "...life is unmanagable part" of the first step. I saw that while I technically could manage my life, when I did it wasn't really a life that I enjoyed..... that I liked..... that I wanted to be part of. Holy cow, no wonder "not drinking" didn't really work all that well for very long for me. All that did was expose me on a constant basis to what was REALLY wrong with me.

There are some wonderful suggestions we get from all sorts of people - things to do to distract us from drinking again. Things to help us find true meaning in our existence. Hopefully those are things one is willing to do and they're things that make a lasting difference. For me, I found such advice logical...... but it never seemed to bear the desired effect I wanted so badly.

I kept hearing, "when the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically." Perhaps I'd been going about it all wrong. Here I'd been reeeeeeeally trying to straighten out my physical health, reeeeeeeeally trying to straighten out my thinking, really trying to put my life back in order but I could tell deep-down that the results were negligible and, at worst, they were fleeting.

What I thought I'd try, and I've stuck with for the past 9 years or so owing purely to the results of the practice, was concentrate instead upon this supposed "spiritual malady" it was suggested I had. I didn't really think I had that.....and I really didn't think their so-called solution would do much but what did I have to lose, ya know? It was becoming apparent that "not drinking, having a sponsor and going to meetings" was not a manner of living I was enjoying and it sure didn't sound like much of a future. Maybe this "spiritual awakening" crap was worth pursuing? As I said earlier, that kicked off a chain of events that has worked SO well that here I am, edging up on 11 years sober AND happy. While the sober part is vital, believe me when I say if this wasn't working, I'd rather be drunk and miserable than dry and miserable.

So while I find a lot of value in lots of activities, the main question I fall back upon when I start feeling like that new job, the new relationship, these new habits, that new hobby, etc is this - Are you Mike, seeking recovery through the right portal? Are you looking for happiness in things, additions or subtractions or are you addressing it at it's core? What I've found is that when I'm spiritually fit and I'm grounded in the solution to the type of chronic alcoholism I have, it almost never crosses my mind that X, Y, or Z is lacking, needs to go away, or that life just isn't treating me the way I think I want or need it to.